Emerging from a comprehensive mammalian
Shaping sim at eleven o'clock, she
grabbed a lunch packed by Henri, the
Shaped lemur who managed the kitchen
biots, and started on her daily three
hours of physical training. Today it was
an excursion out to Monk Falls and back.
Even including a leisurely lunch
overlooking the Falls it was a round
trip that she could easily run within
the alloted time. It was one of her
favorite runs as the Falls provided a
magnificent vista. She would sit
watching the Monk River tumbling over
the edge of the mesa and disappearing
into a white cloud of mist as it broke
up long before it reached the jungle far
below. On a clear day she could even
make out Fear Mesa jutting up out of the
dense lowland jungle, the next mesa
north in the archipelago.

Shortly before eleven Trinette emerged
from a comprehensive mammalian Shaping
sim and padded into the kitchen, her
moccasins silent on the organic
composite floor. "Henri?" she called
out.
Henri swung down from one of his perches
and leapt to land lightly on the counter
next to her. "Ah, Mistress Trinette! You
are going on a run perhaps, and are
looking for a little sustenance from
Henri?" the Shaped silver and black
lemur said in his high pitched voice.
Trinette smiled. The ritual was the same
everyday. "If you wouldn't mind Master
Henri."
"Oh, no bother, no bother," Henri said
as he signaled a kitchen biot, a
nameless, roughly human shaped golem
that was the result of one her mothers
early experiments. It trundled over to
the cooler and disappeared within.
"Where are you going this fine day,
Trinette? Perhaps to Rennie Lake or
maybe the Tom Tom Caves?"
As Henri chattered he swung over to an
inverted step pyramid projecting down
from the ceiling. It glowed with a warm
light indistinguishable from the sun's.
Each step was a shelf from which grew a
bewildering chaos of fruit and
vegetables in various states of
maturity.
"I was thinking I would run out to Monk
Falls," Trinette replied.
The biot returned from the cooler and
started to prepare sandwiches at the
counter.
"Ah, ah, Monk Falls, you say? One of
your favorites, I think," Henri said as
he plucked several pink and yellow
apples from the pyramid then leapt
gracefully to the shoulder of the biot.
"Rimbaldi is always waxing eloquent
about their beauty. Of the magnificence
of the vista. Someday I will have to
accompany the two of you there. By the
way, where is the old chap? It is not
like him to be far from you for long."
It took a moment for Trinette to respond
as the memory of watching the Monk River
welled up within her. Like all her
memories, if she was not careful to
suppress or filter them, it came back as
nearly a full sensoria. For a moment she
found herself re-experiencing it, back
on the sun warmed rock, breathing in the
rich scents of the forest and river bank
while watching the Monk River tumble
over the edge of the mesa with a muted
roar. It disappeared into a white cloud
of mist and an arching rainbow as it
broke up long before it reached the
jungle far below. In the distance, out
across the jungle choked lowlands, she
could just see Fear Mesa, the next mesa
north in the archipelago, jutting up
like a distant castle wall.
Shutting down the memory sensoria she
replied: "He is with Mother. Presumably
reviewing the rest of today's lessons."
"And what have you been studying this
morning?"
"Still doing the higher mammalian
Shaping, but Mother says I am about
ready to move on to humans."
"Humans? That is wonderful news. Soon
you will be Shaping yourself," Henri
said as he directed the biot to pack the
lunch into a pouch. "But you were in a
sim all morning? Do you want me to pack
extra water? I know how sims can
dehydrate."
"No, no, that won't be necessary."
"You drank enough when you unjacked,
then?" Henri said solicitously.
"Oh, yes. Rimbaldi reminded me."
"Good, good. Here I will pack you some
electrolyte gum." The biot reached into
a drawer and pulled out a handful of
gray wafers and as it handed them to
Henri it clumsily dropped a few. Henri
patted the biot affectionately before
deftly scooping up the wafers from the
counter and placing them in the pouch.
"Thank you, Henri." Sometimes Trinette
wondered when Henri was going to get
tired of the old kitchen biots and have
them replaced with her mother's current
models. The newest ones would never have
dropped the gum. In fact, they were
quite capable of plucking the falling
wafers from the air. This would have
been obvious to Henri if he had attended
one of her combat practice sessions with
the golem biots, and seen the testament
to their speed written on her in bruises
and broken bones. But she knew he would
never trade the old biots in.
"Don't mention it. I will have a snack
prepared for your return. You will be
back by 2:00, I presume?"
"Yes, that would be great! Definitely by
2:00," Trinette responded as she scooped
up the lunch pouch and headed for the
door. There would be more than enough
time to make the round trip in three
hours, including a leisurely lunch
overlooking the Falls. "See you later,"
she said with a little wave.
"Fair you well," Henri replied and he
directed the biot to start preparing
lunch for the Shaper.